THE GIFT (for Grown-ups Only)

Accepting or not accepting The Gift (for Grown-ups Only) is a litmus test for whether you’re a “full-fledged grown-up” or not.

Watch the Video and see if you agree.

The Basic Principles:

Children “have to” do things they don’t want to do all the time. This is a function of brain development. A child’s brain is not mature enough to set optimal limits for him/herself — not mature enough to take into consideration and evaluate all the most important pros and cons of whether a particular choice of action is in his/her best interest (or even safe).

Chronological grown-ups (who don’t have serious brain disorders) do have mature enough brains to evaluate the potential consequences, favorable or unfavorable, of their choices/behavior.

If you’re an adult and you’re thinking/believing/acting as if you “have to” do something you don’t want to do, in those moments you are acting like a child, or a prisoner, or a victim — not free, not at choice.

In daily life for most adults in the world (at least those who are not prisoners or living in war zone or a rigid oppressive totalitarian regime), it’s bull shit (fantasy, illusion) to say or think that you “have to” do something you don’t want to do.

When you are doing anything coming from thoughts, beliefs, feelings of “I have to do this, but I don’t really want to,” you won’t feel good about what you’re doing. You’ll be disempowering yourself, causing self-inflicted stress and negativity.

The Project:

A Video blog/interactive website exploring the principles and challenges of living life as a full-fledged grown-up who no longer does anything he/she doesn’t want to do. This would include video interviews of grown-ups (and grown-up wannabes).

An “arty” inspirational “culture-help” “self-help” book, currently envisioned in the style of a graphic novel and/or the very popular book, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

The Objectives of this Project

#1 To offer The Gift (for Grown-ups Only) to as many chronological grown-ups (and “Grown-ups in Training”) as possible.

#2 This is a “self-help project”: To help readers and viewers recognize their automatic “have to” mental patterns and evaluate whether it’s true that they really don’t want to do the task they are saying/thinking they “have to do” or whether they really do want to do the task and are just in a mental habit of thinking they don’t want to.

#3 This is a “culture-help project”: To help “educate the culture” and especially the leaders and teacher of “the human culture” that the “have to” message so common for parents, teachers, political leaders, employers/managers give to their children, students, citizens, employees, discourages the development of “full-fledged grown-ups.”

#5 To be financially successful.

Target Audiences

We envision our main book idea as a gift/inspirational book for every grown-up and every “grown-up wannabe”. It’s a very simple, yet profound message that most anyone can “get.” Even people who are not “into” (or even open to) personal growth and learning could be open to looking at and even being influenced by a book with this inviting, yet provocative title and message.

Spin-off “Gifts” for most any niche audience — the principle is applicable in all areas of life, such as, the following: “The Gift (for Grown-ups in Training)” targeted to parents and children, emphasizing how the very common parental “have to” (compulsory/no choice) message to children is not the best strategy for optimal grown-up development; “The Gift (for Teachers & Students Only)” — optimal learning doesn’t happen from “have to” (external motivation), but rather from “want to” (internal motivation); The Gift (for Business Owners, CEO’s & Managers Only) — optimal performance happens from “want to” not “have to”; “The Gift (for Prisoners Only)” — even if your life situation has very little room for choice, such as for prisoners, your mind is not “in prison” and your mind/thoughts don’t “have to” do anything you don’t want them too.

Ideal Team:

A graphic artist with experience and interest in doing a graphic novel-type treatment of THE GIFT (for Grown-ups Only) and the possibility of working on a series of “THE GIFT” books for niche audiences

A psychotherapist who resonates with the simple, yet profound message of THE GIFT (for Grown-ups Only) and wants to make it a focus of his/her work in partnership with LGIBooks